M-League Watch

In collaboration with World Riichi and the United States Professional Mahjong League, M-League will be hosting two events in the United States from June 26 to June 30.

M.League x World Riichi event!

Join us this summer in the United States for an amazing line up of mahjong stars from Japan in both Las Vegas and New York City!

More details to be published soon but put these dates in your diary! pic.twitter.com/Tqz4jXh084

— World Riichi (WRC) (@WorldRiichi) January 12, 2026

The first event will be held in Las Vegas from June 26 to June 28, while the second event will be in New York from June 29 to June 30. (There will also be a 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 game at MetLife Stadium in nearby New Jersey on June 30)

The events will feature M-Leaguer, including

• Matsumoto Yoshihiro (Shibuya Abemas, NPM)
• Takamiya Mari (Konami Mahjong Fight Club, JPML)
• Uchikawa Kotaro (EX Furinkazan, JPML)
• Okada Sayaka (Kadokawa Sakura Knights, JPML)
• Aikawa Megumu (Earth Jets, NPM)
• Shiratori Sho (Shibuya Abemas, JPML)

Along with other pros, including

• Uotani Yuumi (Former Sega Sammy Phoenix [2018-2024], JPML)
• Yamai Hiroshi (1st World Riichi Champion, JPML)
• Jenn (American JPML Pro)
• Hirano Ryoei (JPML, featured in ASICS Mind Games – The Experiment’ documentary)

The events will feature a 2-day tournament, fan meetings and exhibition matches. More details and registration to come.

World Riichi is the host of the World Riichi Championship, the next of which will be held in New York in 2028. Last year, the organization launched World Riichi Professional Mahjong (WRPM), an opportunity for “dedicated riichi mahjong players to grow their game, promote riichi mahjong and contribute to the wider community”.

USPML was established in 2010 and hosts meetups in the New York City area. In 2017, they hosted the World Riichi Championship in Las Vegas.

This will the second time an official M-League will be held in the United States. In June 2025, M-League players participated in fan meetings and tournaments at the AMOS Festival held in Las Vegas.

The calendar may have changed from 2025 to 2026, but the exciting M-League action hasn’t changed at all! In the 16th week of the M-League 2025-26 season, we watched as players won flushes and baimans and some incredible comebacks. And all this fighting is done for a chance to makes the semifinals, the finals and the championship.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings

Even as 2025 winds down, it doesn’t mean that the M-League action winds down! In Week 15 of the M-League 2025-26 season, we had a lot of exciting surprises. From a bunch of baimans to comebacks to a player getting their first 1st of the season, everyone made sure that 2025 ended with a bang!

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings

Though skill is a large part of mahjong, there is always the element of chance. From chance uradora to gambling on the chance at an uradora, sometimes you have to hope that the mahjong gods are smiling down on you to give you the best result.

In the 14th week of the M-League 2025-26 season, players were smiled down up with yakuman chances and uradora wins . And in an interesting case of chance and bad luck, we had a table breaking down quite a bit on Friday.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings

We’re just past the halfway point of the season and the fight for the top 6 is really hot! Today, we’ll look at how each team is doing and figure out what each team can do to find success.

Continue reading “M-League 2025-26: Mid-Season Review”

Addition is fundamental to mahjong. With the numbers, you need to combine them to get your final total. When you keep adding and adding fu and dora and yaku and han and points, it equals a big result and a big score.

In the 13th week of the M-League 2025-26 season, we had a lot of yaku and dora to combine for big baiman wins. In addition (pun intended), we also hit a big milestone for the season.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

The Hospitalization Of Asai Takaki

On December 4, 2025, after the second game on the black table, Sega Sammy Phoenix player Asai Takaki was seen getting out of his chair and sitting on the floor. Soon after, both tables went to a commercial break. The next day, the Sega Sammy Phoenix posted on Twitter that Takaki had been brought to the hospital.

◯お知らせ◯

いつもセガサミーフェニックスを応援いただきましてありがとうございます。

浅井堂岐選手は体調不良により入院となりました。
そのため、当面の間、試合出場やイベント出演を見送ることとなりました。

一日も早い快復に向けて療養に専念いたします。…

— セガサミーフェニックス🦅🔥 (@SEGASAMMY_PNX) December 5, 2025

On December 10, Takaki’s mother posted on Takaki’s account that he had been hospitalized with a cerebrovascular disease, but he is conscious and is taking steps towards recovery. His employer, Bullet Group Inc., also put out a statement saying that they will not be answering questions or releasing information about his condition to respect his privacy.

There is good news, though. On December 13, Takaki posted a “Good Morning” post with a thumbs up emoji

おはようございます👍

— 浅井堂岐（たかき） (@taka12taka24) December 12, 2025

The M-League Watch team would like to wish Takaki the speediest recovery possible so he can return to playing on the M-League stage.

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Intro | Standings

Mahjong is a game of numbers. The numbers 1 through 9 are the basic building blocks (or tiles, I guess) of the game. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands are points that are exchanged. Probabilities are behind every single decision. And all with four people around a table of 136 tiles.

We have just started the 12th month to start the 12th week of the M-League 2025-26 season. And in this week, we had a number of big wins and close calls. We had a player winning and winning and rising higher in the individual standings, and teams gaining point sto rise in the team rankings. And all these numbers are gearing them up for a big 70,000,000 yen grand prize.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings

Even with how difficult and frustrating mahjong can be, sometimes you have to be thankful and grateful for the little things. Sometimes it’s being thankful for getting that tight 1st place, sometimes it just avoiding 4th. Sometimes you’re thankful for winning, sometimes it’s not drawing the deal-in tile. And with every game, you are thankful to have three other people to play this fun game with.

In the 11th week of the M-League 2025-26 season, fans were thankful for many things, including timely kans, ippatsu hits and surprise wins.

Thank you for your patience. Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings

In every mahjong game, there are battles. There are battles between players to fight for first place. There are battles in your mind about which move is the best. You even battle yourself when you’re facing luck and fate.

In Week 10 of the M-League 2025-26 season, we saw all these battles and more. From players battling the odds to make comebacks, to teams battling it out in the standings, it was quite a week of shifts and surprises.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Premium Night

This week, M-League announced the date for the next M-League Premium Night.

On Friday, February 6, 2026, M-League will host a Premium night at Kanadevia Hall (formerly known as Tokyo Dome City Hall).

At the event, they will attempt to broadcast one game for each table. For the first game, they will broadcast the EX Furinkazan vs. Kadokawa Sakura Knights vs. Konami Mahjong Fight Club vs. Shibuya Abemas. For the second game, they will broadcast the Earth Jets vs. Sega Sammy Phoenix vs. Team Raiden vs. Beast X. The commentators at the venue will be announced at a later day.

Along with the broadcasts, all team players will be in attendance, as well merchandise sales, other stage events and a prize draw.

Tickets range from 9,800 yen to 18,000 yen, and will be sold on the Lawson Ticket website starting on December 1 for official supporters and December 4 for the general public. There is also a suite room costing 360,000 yen that can accommodate up to 15 people and includes a light snacks and drinks and a team meet-and-greet.

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Intro | Standings

It takes a lot of work to move ahead. Naturally, you have to be down to move up. But, it’s another thing to take that power and momentum and to go further and higher and faster and stronger than ever before.

In the 9th week of the M-League 2025-26 season, we had comebacks from players and teams using their momentum to. From a surprise baiman to a team going even higher than they already were, both individual and team strength were on full display.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

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Intro | Standings